JROTC Worth It?

As a rising freshman, I have been considering whether or not I should do JROTC. In our school district, three semesters of JROTC waive one PE credit, while two semesters of PE waive the PE credit. I have heard from some that JROTC is a great way to gain leadership skills and if a leadership position is gained, it looks good to service academies like West Point. Others have said that JROTC is a waste of time and space in your schedule. Any opinions about this would be appreciated. Thank you!

This can depend on how strong your Extra Curricular Activity (ECA) list will be as a rising senior. You will want to get involved in leadership positions, so JROTC is one route among many. Being an officer in a school organization, CAP, Sea Cadets, Boy Scouts, and others are all similar options. Unless you have a need for something else in your schedule this year, I would say give it a shot and see what you think - you will learn some skills useful in the military and organizations like that take time to get leadership positions. Better to be in and get to a leadership job by 11th grade than scrambling for one then. Try it out and see if it's a good fit. That is my opinion.

If I do it this year, should I take drill team 0 hour (starts at 6:50 in the morning... yikes) along with a JROTC class to waive my PE requirement this year? Or just take a JROTC class?

I plan on joining Model UN and NHS, and gaining leadership positions in both of those clubs, as well as Girls State in my junior year. I also plan on joining the swim/cross country teams.

I think my major concern here is that I won't be able to take the academic courses I want to later on in my high school tenure due to lack of room in my schedule...but I suppose some classes I hope to take really aren't that necessary.

academics come first. JROTC with a 2.5 gpa would not do you any good.
I understand you can get nominations to the SAs via JROTC as well.
Model UN is worth more than drill team. you should have a team sport as well.

Speaking from my experience. Jrotc was one of the best programs I could get myself into. Also got me my nomination which led to my appointment. I could not recommend it enough. That being said, only doing jrotc is not going to be enough to become a competitive candidate. But it sure helps!

AJC and ktnatalk are spot on. I would also recommend looking at Civil Air Patrol (CAP) which is an evening 1x per week program or Sea Cadets, which are 2x per month typically. But academics come first!

I think my major concern here is that I won't be able to take the academic courses I want to later on in my high school tenure due to lack of room in my schedule...but I suppose some classes I hope to take really aren't that necessary.

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Here is what West Point likes to see from you academically:

To prepare yourself for the academic curriculum at West Point, you should complete four years of English with a strong emphasis on composition, grammar, literature and speech; four years of college preparatory mathematics, to include algebra, geometry, intermediate algebra, and trigonometry as a minimum; two years of a foreign language; two years of a laboratory science such as chemistry and physics, and one year of U.S. history, including courses in geography, government and economics. If your school includes a course in precalculus and calculus in its curriculum, and a basic computing course, these courses will be helpful in preparing you for your first year at West Point.

Personally, I think JROTC is a great program to participate in if you wish to get into the Academies. You can become a leader, which looks really great when you start applying to any college, not just the Academies. If your unit is an Honor Unit with Distinction (not sure what it is for AFJROTC, NJROTC, or MCJROTC), you can have your instructor send in a nomination to the Academies, which is really great! However, only up to 20 appointments can come out of the (J)ROTC nomination category. If you feel like your academics would suffer from taking it, do not take it. Focus on getting As in college-prep and AP classes. Like others say, there are other programs you can participate in if you don't find JROTC to be your cup of tea. Other programs outside school like CAP, Sea Cadets, and Boy Scouts are great programs for building your resume for the Academy. All three programs help build leadership and look great on college applications, especially the Academies. I have participated in JROTC for 4 years, CAP for 2 years, and Boy Scouts for 2 years; that's probably why I'm so partial

How would you know that???? Unless your MOC specifically said they gave you a NOM because of JROTC (highly unlikely), then it sounds like you are making a big assumption.

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Oh sorry for the confusion! As stated above I received a nomination from my jrotc. I received my appointment before my MOC nomination interviews except for Rubio. Who didn't give me a nomination anyway haha.

Only 20 appointments can be charged to the ROTC/JROTC slate. It's sort of like Presidential, if you mark off all the required boxes you qualify but only 20 can be charged via that Nominating source. A requirement for JROTC to be eligible is the unit must have received distinguished unit the previous year.

JROTC can nominate without being a distinguished unit if it's the same branch as the academy. e.g. Army JROTC can nominate to West Point, but not to USNA.

JROTC is a great way to gain leadership positions and develop personal fitness in respect to the Academies. As a platoon leader in my JROTC, I regret not being a member of drill team. If you aspire towards any sort of leadership position, make sure you take drill and you will advance far more quickly. Mention to your 1SG and SAI your intentions to go to an Academy your desire for leadership, and they will likely make you a class leader (unless they find someone even more ambitious).

I would not recommend joining JROTC only to waive your PE credit, but the experience and leadership skill you will earn there will be beneficial to you.